


Soul Bound

by Seakays



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Happy Birthday Ra’shell, Soulmate Story, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:54:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29947536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seakays/pseuds/Seakays
Summary: Investigating a burglary at Draco Malfoy’s swanky jewelry store, will Auror Hermione Granger discover a very personal connection to the proprietor?
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 10
Kudos: 66





	1. A Robbery in Diagon Alley

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rdlentz8](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rdlentz8/gifts).



> This small two shot was written for my wonderful and amazing alpha/beta RDLentz8. 
> 
> About a year ago we were paired together for a piece I was writing for SMAR, and the rest - as they say - is history. 
> 
> She is smart, knowledgeable about a zillion canon facts, highly creative and more importantly she is honest and kind. 
> 
> She is the absolute best cheerleader (hahaha) and I am blessed to always have her in my corner. 
> 
> Enjoy your special day and try not to cringe at my excessive use of commas. 
> 
> This little piece is unbeta’d so all mistakes are mine. Chapter two will be up Thursday.
> 
> All Harry Potter references, characters and dialogue are the property of JK Rowling and I make no profit from this work.

“This is Auror 2487C reporting. We are 10-31, Captain. I repeat, we are 10-31.”

Hermione Granger quickly rounded the corner of Livingston and Cambridge in Diagon Alley, wand drawn and eyes searching. She spun at the distinctive pop of apparition, watching intently as someone tall, and dressed in shocking violet blinked out of her sightline. Once the shimmer of apparition had faded, all Hermione could see was the frustrated face of her partner. Dean Thomas holstered his wand at the same time as Hermione and let loose a series of rather repetitive curses.

“Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck. I cannot believe this purple wanker has gotten away again. That’s the fifth shop in Diagon that’s been hit in the past month. You put the anti-apparition net up, right?”

If Hermione hadn’t been so angry at the situation, she might have been offended by Dean’s suggestion that she didn’t know how to cast an  _ AA net _ correctly. “Of course I did, but they seemed to know just where the edge of my charm ended.” 

“Let’s call it in to HQ, Granger, and head back to that swanky jewelry shop they robbed this time.” Dean was busy taking photos of the area as he spoke, so he didn’t catch the grimace that passed over Hermione’s face when he mentioned returning to  _ Grace _ , the exclusive jewelry store that had been robbed.

Ten years as an Auror meant she knew protocol perfectly, but the thought of returning to this  _ particula _ r victim filled her with an unsettling mixture of nerves, dread and queasy anticipation. For the proprietor of this shop was none other than Draco Malfoy, a wizard who always seemed to reduce her to the insecure, apprehensive eleven-year-old she was nineteen years ago. 

While their interactions were few, each and every time they did meet, she seemed to end up on the losing end of their exchanges. When he had bumped into her at the dessert table at Pansy Parkinson and Percy Weasley’s wedding in February, he had been perfectly pleasant. He was polite, even amusing, yet Hermione had reacted to his polite query about her promotion to Auror, First Class with thinly veiled suspicion and reservations. Even Dean had noticed the uncharacteristic frost in her voice.

When they had crossed paths running on the track at the new gym in Ottery St Catchpole a month ago, his perusal of her running gear had left her feeling like a bucked tooth, frizzy haired teenager all over again. Even though she knew she looked just fine in her  _ Lululemon _ leggings and sports bra, seeing his  _ Koral _ shorts and tank irked her enough that she went back to the Auror’s only gym the very next day. Having to put up with the less than subtle sexual innuendos was worth it not to feel gauche and tasteless next to him. 

The worst part was that _ any _ interaction with Draco Malfoy left her off kilter and confused for days. She couldn’t stand to be around him, yet she religiously read every single article written about him and his exploits. She could probably tell you what size shoe he wore, and the full name of each his last five girlfriends, and she hated herself just a little that she knew those details. 

Both Harry and Ron, and their wives had made many comments about Hermione’s odd obsession with Draco, much to her embarrassment and chagrin, but no matter how hard she tried to stop, she always had to know his whereabouts. She tried to tell herself it was because she wanted to avoid him at all possible costs, but Hermione knew that that explanation was cursory at best. It would be easy enough to avoid him, but even when she didn’t see him, he consumed her thoughts way more than anyone should. His dating life in particular made her uncomfortable. It was like she somehow  _ knew  _ that each of the gorgeous witches he had dated over the past decade were unreservedly wrong for him. 

It was odd, and unsettling, and over the past few years, it had gotten worse. Ginny said it was because she hadn’t found her soulmate yet, and peculiarity abounded for those who remained soul-cast. While Hermione tended to  _ pooh pooh _ the idea of soulmates, lately she had been giving the idea some credence. After all, she  _ was  _ thirty, and while all of her friends seemed to have paired up with relative ease post war, she was still aggressively single. She could have blamed it on her job, with its inherent danger and long hours, but Hermione was honest enough to admit that she never had more than a fleeting interest in anyone since Ron over a decade earlier. 

She often lamented that if she did actually  _ have _ a soulmate, there was a high degree of probability that he had been killed in the war, a thought that filled her with an odd combination of anger and pain.  _ What exactly was the universe thinking to only give each person one soulmate.  _ Luna, however, swore on her beloved snorfalumps that Hermione’s soulmate was alive, just somehow  _ muted _ . 

Whatever the reason for her staggeringly unremarkable love life, the last person Hermione wanted to see again was Draco Malfoy. She briefly considered using her seniority to lob the interview off to Dean, but both her professionalism, and that strange internal pull carried her to the sleek metal door of  _ Grace. _

She had just raised her wand to initiate the spell to announce their arrival when the door swung open to reveal an impatient and exasperated Malfoy. 

“Mr. Malfoy….”

“Did you find…”

They both spoke at once, then Malfoy scrubbed a hand over his face, waving the other to indicate that she should begin.

“Mr. Malfoy, we regret to inform you that we were unable to apprehend the thief before they apparated. It seems that they have escaped with whatever they stole from your store.” To ensure that he could not see her agitation, Hermione fell back on official Auror language and tone, something that seemed to irritate him even further. 

“So as expected, the Auror Corps was useless once again. You are  _ aware _ , Senior Auror Granger that this is the fifth robbery in a month on this particular part of Diagon Alley? You and Thomas here have been as useless as tits on a bull. The emeralds that were stolen were part of a heritage reset for Tiberius Nott and his new wife. I am not looking forward to having to explain to him that his child bride is going to have to be satisfied with mere diamonds for her retinue.”

Draco had inched closer to her during his diatribe, and her initial anger and indignation gave way to nerves and uncertainty the closer he got. Rationally, she knew she should be angry with his insults, but his entire presence was overwhelming her, and she couldn’t really concentrate on his words. Her heart was doing organ gymnastics in her chest. Speeding up, slowing down, beating in time with an unknown drumbeat. Her palms were sweating, and if Dean hadn’t been there to ground her, she was sure she would have swooned in an unruly heap right into Draco Malfoy’s arms.

“Step back, Malfoy, you great idjit, unless you want Granger here to vomit all over those pretentious dragon leather shoes of yours.” Dean grabbed Hermione and yanked her back, breaking whatever magic seemed to be affecting her. With the jolt and the sudden distance, Hermione felt more like herself again, and wrestled out of Dean’s hold.

“I’m fine, Auror Thomas. Malfoy, do you have a picture of the jewels that were taken? I’d like to canvas a few of the lesser known shops around town.”

“Of course I do. All jewelry is photographed, catalogued and magically scanned prior to any of my artisans working on it. Come with me to my office, and I’ll get you a copy of everything. That is if you can stand to be in my presence long enough without sicking up. Pregnant, Granger? No wonder you’re sick if its ginger spawn inside you.” Draco had turned and started to walk to the back of the store, so he didn’t see the fire spark in Hermione’s eyes, but he certainly heard the fallout. 

“Malfoy, you are foul. It was the combination of your odious cologne and all that hair gel that made me nauseous. Could you  _ possibly _ use more hair products? And you know damn well that Ron is married to Luna, so there is no ginger spawn gestating in this uterus. Honestly.” With a huff, Hermione followed Draco to his office.

She was pleasantly surprised by the modern, very muggle looking furniture in metal, glass and grey tones. It was classy, expensive and looked swanky as hell. Most importantly there was not a stick of green or a snake ornament anywhere in sight. 

“Not what you were expecting, eh Granger?” As Hermione wiped the contemplative look off her face, he continued. “Oh, don’t even try to hide your shock. You Gryffs are so easy to read even now. You know,  _ I am _ a rather successful businessman if I do say so myself. I donate to all the right charities. Hell, I even volunteer at the orphanage two days a month. Yet you can barely stand to be in the same room with me. Do I bother the Senior Auror that much? “ 

Again, Draco had come disarmingly close, and it was only with sheer force of will that she stopped herself from moving even closer. She watched as he duplicated the information on the emeralds, and then reached out to grab the papers, annoyed when he moved them out of her reach, tick-tocking them back and forth.

“You know,  _ Senior Auror _ . I think you owe me something for all the disdain you have been showing me. How about a drink before you go? Shoo Thomas away with the photos and share a scotch with me. I have an amazing Laphroaig single malt that I know you would like.” 

Shocked somewhat speechless by the man standing in front of her, it took her a full minute to formulate a response. Holding up three fingers she began, “First of all, I’m on duty. Second, how in Merlin’s name did you know I liked single malt scotch? And third, I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to have a drink with you.”

“Well, Granger let me answer those in order.” Draco grabbed her hand. “One, you are long past your finishing time, and I am sure that after our drink you will stay up for hours contemplating the robbery.” Draco slowly pushed one finger down. “Second, I know what you drink because I am very observant when it comes to you. Every single event you have ever been at, you have held a tumbler of Muggle scotch in your hand.” He stepped closer and bent down her second finger. “And third, you absolutely do  _ desire _ to have a drink with me, because you want to know why you feel this pull towards me.” They were inches apart as he pushed the third finger down and enclosed her hand in his fist.

Glaring into his grey eyes, Hermione tried desperately to yank a choke chain on the magic that was threatening to flare out of control. “You feel this  _ … thing too? _ Are you occluding? Do you know what this is, Malfoy? You have to tell me.”

“Send Thomas on his merry way, and I’ll give you all the answers I can.” Hermione caught the flicker of excitement in his eyes as she threaded her fingers through his fist drawing their joined hands down her side.

Drawing her wand, she again copied the papers Draco had given her and sent a set with the Patronus she had just called on.  _ Take these to Auror Thomas and tell him I’ll meet him at HQ in an hour.  _ They both watched as Hermione’s otter whisked around in joy, nipped at the papers and blinked out of sight.

“Your Patronus is a lot more lighthearted than you are, Granger. That’s …. unusual.” 

Hermione stared after her otter, contemplating the decidedly happy animal. “Unusual sure seems to be the word of the day.”

Removing her hand from Draco’s, Hermione sat in one of the office chairs, grabbed the crystal tumbler he had filled and downed half the contents in one gulp. Ignoring the look of horror on Draco’s face, she titled the glass at him, and said. “Spill!”

Instead of sitting in the opposite chair, Draco leaned back and perched on his desk, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. “Where to begin…. this could take a while.”

Hermione interrupted him. “Okay Scheherazade, you need to give me the Sparks notes version as I’ve got about fifty-five minutes before Dean comes back with reinforcements.”

“Okay, Granger. Here’s a question to start. How much do you believe in Soulmates?”


	2. The Muted Soulmate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Hermione discuss soulmates and how it relates to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RDLentz8- I hope you enjoy this little silliness in honour of your birthday ❤️

It took a minute or two before Hermione could stop laughing, and after one inelegant snort she realized that the scowling wizard before her was deadly serious.

“You  _ actually  _ believe all that rot about everyone being soul bound, except the poor unfortunate souls who are soul-cast, destined to spend their lives sad, pathetic and lonely? You sure you haven’t been having drinks with Ginny and Luna?”

“It’s not  _ rot  _ to some of us. Come on, Granger, aren’t you even a little bit curious if you have a soulmate? Even for scientific purposes?” 

Hermione looked momentarily abashed. “I suppose I might have considered the veracity of the idea once or twice over the past few years. Its not like I’ve been fighting off wizards lately. Unlike yourself, Malfoy, you seem to have a stable full of tall blonde Purebloods at your beck and call.”

Taking another sip of his drink, Draco simply raised his eyebrows at her, and continued. “Those witches serve a purpose, Granger. The fact that I am not soul bound … well, let’s just say it brings out a certain level of opportunism amongst the Sacred 28. Seeming to be on a quest for my soul mate keeps the jackals at bay, so to speak. It's all terribly inconsequential. But humour me and tell me what you know about the soul bond.”

Grateful to expound on what she knew and gain some much-needed equilibrium, Hermione started spouting off the facts she had learned from books, and many witch’s nights with Ginny and Lina. 

“Well, because the  _ powers that be _ seem to have a particularly macabre sense of humour, each person only has one soulmate. I mean, how  _ ridiculous _ is that? What happens if that person gets hit by a car? Or gets cancer and dies? I mean, do you get assigned a new one or you just walk around for the rest of your life feeling less than?” 

Hermione stood at this point in her diatribe and began to pace Draco’s office. Taking another large sip of the delicious scotch, she continued. “I do know that soulmates are assigned within the first two years of life, and the two are naturally drawn to one another. It seems to be different with each pair. Luna knew her soulmate was Ron, and she had total faith that they were meant to be, even though he and I dated, and she spent years with Rolf Scamander. Ginny said pretty much the same thing, although she was never at peace when Harry dated other witches. I was certain she was going to light Daphne Greengrass’s hair on fire in eighth year.” Hermione chuckled at the memory. 

“One thing they all have mentioned is the peace that they found when they were around their soulmate. Harry described it as a sense of calm, sustained by a large cauldron of burning lava. I’m not sure how that is supposed to be attractive, but I know I’ve never felt like that about anyone.”

Plopping herself back into the chair, Hermione tried hard not to look saddened by the realization that she could remain soul-cast for the rest of her life. The only wizard she ever had that dramatic a reaction to was Malfoy, and it certainly did not produce a sense of calm. 

Draco took a moment before he responded. “You certainly know the basics, but there are a few things that you will never find in any of your precious books.” Holding up three fingers like Hermione had done earlier in the day, he began to list. “First, it’s a myth that everyone has just one soulmate. Second, soulmates can change given circumstances. But it’s the third that your books and your little Gryffindor club wouldn’t know anything about. See, Granger, you  _ can influence _ soul bound magic. Someone with enough magical power can harness it, encourage it or even mute it. Someone like my father.” 

As he bent down the last finger, he slapped his fist onto the desk, drawing Hermione’s attention. Draco could see she was processing all of the new information, and as a look of horror came over her face, he had to laugh. “I was wondering how long it would take the brightest witch to ever live to get to the truth.”

“Just of our  _ age _ , not to  _ ever live _ , Malfoy. That would just be hyperbole. So what you are trying to tell me is your father fucked around with your soulmate and now you have been left to search for her for the rest of your life?” As Hermione considered further, she added, “or him, maybe?”

Draco simply stared at her. “Oh for the love of Slytherin, Granger. Are you trying to be deliberately obtuse? I am almost certain we - you and I - are soulmates.” 

Draco had spoken quite softly as he made vague movements with his hand indicating the space between them, which meant that Hermione’s bark of laughter sounded disproportionately loud. 

“Har dee har, Malfoy. We can barely stand to be in each other’s presence for longer than a nanosecond, and you expect me to believe that we are soulmates who were thwarted from their grand love affair because of your nefarious father? You’ve been reading way too many Blushing Britches books, my friend.”

“Granger …. Hermione. For the sake of the Fereghan, please stop pacing. I know you feel something for me…”

“.... contempt….

“I know you have a binder full of newspaper clippings about me….”

“..... Harry Potter is dead to me…”

Hermione finally stopped her loop around his office and looked him straight in the eye. “Okay, I’m not going to deny that I have some kind of strange fascination with you. But Malfoy, when I look at you… when I’m near you…. it’s  _ not _ a good feeling. I feel like a weird magnet doing some kind of twisted doh-see-doh. Attract and repel. Over and over and over again.” 

“It’s the spell. Supposedly our soul bond was so strong that when Father went to destroy it, he couldn’t. All he could do was temper the bond, mute it somehow. Our bonds constantly called to one another once we had our 18th birthday, which explains why we were both fascinated with each other, but Father’s spell ensured that the attraction would make us unsettled and supremely uncomfortable.”

Draco had drawn Hermione back down into the chair during his explanation and waited patiently for her to speak. 

“But how did you find out? Your father two years ago.”

Draco had the good grace to look a bit abashed. “When Father died, the spell did lose its efficacy for me. I was still just as drawn to you, but I no longer felt  _ unsettled _ when I saw you. At Pansy’s wedding, I realized that your bond was still being impacted by the spell. Calling me a great grey grubby toad in my dress robes was my first clue your feelings for me hadn’t changed.”

Draco smiled in memory of her insult and continued. “I had to figure out a way to break the spell, so Zabini and I figured we would use something called exposure therapy. We started out small … but it didn’t work. You still acted like you hated me every time we saw one another.”

Hermione looked shocked. “You used a Muggle therapy technique to break a magical spell? Colour me impressed!” Hermione paused for a moment, gathered her courage and confessed. “It _ was _ working, Malfoy. I almost swooned straight into your arms today. It was embarrassing.” 

“Well I was desperate, Granger. I needed to get you close to me ….”. Draco trailed off, hoping that Hermione didn’t put two and two together.

Which of course she did.

“So …. the purple wanker?”

“Blaise …”

“He robbed your neighbours….”

“We always gave it right back….”

“But why such an elaborate ruse?”

“I had to make it seem that there was some kind of serial burglar on the loose. To make it worth the time of the Senior Auror…. It was risky, but I didn’t think an owl saying  _ Hey Granger I think you’re my soulmate, how about a butterbeer  _ would have worked _.” _

Hermione scoffed, “You got that right. So let’s just say we are destined to be soul bound, what’s the next step?” 

As Draco’s face lit up, Hermione felt every cell in her body heat up. She felt dizzy, and overwhelmed. Then he took her hand, pressed it to his cheek, and kissed her palm. 

Later Hermione would think that Harry was right. It  _ was  _ just like being on top of an active volcano. Hot and dangerous, but so incredibly powerful. 

But at that particular moment, all thoughts of lava, and purple wankers and Harry vanished. As they touched, the last remnants of Lucius Malfoy’s spell faded into so much dust, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, she felt complete.

Hours of conversation, an empty bottle of scotch, multiple owls to friends, had left the two new soul mates happy and a bit dazed.

Leaving with a scorching kiss, and a promise for lunch and dinner the next day, all Auror 2487C could think of was just how much paperwork _ this _ particular case was going to generate! 

  
  



End file.
